Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to page 38 of the Independent review of Border Force by Alexander Downer, published on 20 July 2022, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of Heathrow Border Force Officers that have been informed of changes to their reasonable adjustments since that report was published.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

No members of staff have had their reasonable adjustments changed as a consequence of the Heathrow Change Programme.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with similar names to people on watchlists are not harassed during border checks at airports.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Our priority is to maintain a secure border. We will not compromise on this. Border Force performs checks on all passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services to identify individuals who pose, or are suspected to pose, a risk to the national interest.

Identities, and combinations of names and dates of birth, are not necessarily unique. Individuals who share names with persons of interest may experience closer examination than would otherwise be the case.

The Home Office is making significant investment to improve the underlying technical infrastructure which performs border checks to identify individuals more precisely. This will reduce the number of individuals incorrectly matched to persons of interest and enable Border Force to identify more quickly individuals who are not to be confused with persons of interest. We expect these improvements to start having effect over the summer.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many hotels were used to temporarily accommodate asylum seekers on 31 December (a) 2023 and (b) expected to be used by 2024.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office has been clear that the use of hotels is a temporary and necessary measure to ensure we meet our statutory obligation to accommodate destitute asylum seekers.

We have made rapid progress since autumn 2023, having handed back over 100 hotels to their local communities. Over 20,000 fewer asylum seekers are accommodated in hotels now than in September 2023. In total, we will have closed 150 hotels by the beginning of May 2024.

Our statutory accommodation needs are kept under continuous review, and we will write to MPs and local authorities as further decisions on hotels are made.

For the safety and security of individual premises, the Home Office does not publish statistics showing the number or location of hotels used to house asylum seekers. However, provisional internal management information indicates a total of 342 hotels were accommodating asylum seekers as of 31 December 2023.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 29 November 2023 to Question 2884 on UK Border Force: Dogs and with reference to the Answer of 31 July 2017 to Question 5188 on UK Border Force: Dogs, for what reason his Department was able to provide that information to Question 5188.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Home Office concerns about the operations of Border Force lead to the information being deemed sensitive and not for public release; I refer the Rt Hon Member to the previous answer expressing concerns about the impact on the security of our borders.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the treatment that people with similar names to people on watchlists receive during border checks at airports.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Our priority is to maintain a secure border. We will not compromise on this. Border Force performs checks on all passengers arriving at the UK border on scheduled services to identify individuals who pose, or are suspected to pose, a risk to the national interest.

Identities, and combinations of names and dates of birth, are not necessarily unique. Individuals who share names with persons of interest may experience closer examination than would otherwise be the case.

The Home Office is making significant investment to improve the underlying technical infrastructure which performs border checks to identify individuals more precisely. This will reduce the number of individuals incorrectly matched to persons of interest and enable Border Force to identify more quickly individuals who are not to be confused with persons of interest. We expect these improvements to start having effect over the summer.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applications for citizenship were refused in each year since 1994.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Historical data relating to those who applied to naturalise/registration can be found here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d8886b87005a001180f8d9/citizenship-summary-dec-2023-tables.ods.

These summary tables report those who were naturalised, registered, or refused on tab Cit_02 since 1987.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's press release entitled 100th asylum hotel set to close next week, published on 20 March 2024, how many of the 100 hotels closed by the end of March 2024 were used to accommodate personnel relocating through the (a) Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme and their families.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

None of the 100 hotels were used to accommodate people relocating through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates the number of hotels used to house asylum seekers by region or constituency.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Department's press release entitled 100th asylum hotel set to close next week, published on 20 March 2024, how many of the 100 hotels closed by the end of March 2024 were located in each (a) region and (b) constituency.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

None of the 100 hotels were used to accommodate people relocating through the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy or the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme.

Data on the number of supported asylum seekers in accommodation (including in contingency hotels and other contingency accommodation) is published in table Asy_D11 here: Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Data is published on a quarterly basis. The Home Office does not publish a breakdown of statistics which disaggregates the number of hotels used to house asylum seekers by region or constituency.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when people whose cases had been on hold as part of the Review of applications by Tier 1 (General) migrants refused under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules and where time spent in the UK as such a migrant formed a part of the consideration can expect to receive a decision on their outstanding applications.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish statistics on legacy cases.

Currently, there is one outstanding case which will be concluded shortly.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of the applications from Tier 1 (General) migrants which were refused under paragraph 322(5) that were subject to review have been decided following the completion of the Review of applications by Tier 1 (General) migrants refused under paragraph 322(5) of the Immigration Rules.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Home Office does not publish statistics on legacy cases.

Currently, there is one outstanding case which will be concluded shortly.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number of Afghan nationals who are family members of individuals resettled to the UK under pathway 1 of the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme who have (a) applied for and (b) been granted (i) entry clearance under refugee family reunion rules, (ii) leave outside those rules and (iii) leave to enter or remain in the UK under other immigration routes.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

The Government continues to work with partners in the region to evacuate eligible people and are committed to bringing more Afghans to the UK in the long term. This includes eligible immediate family members of those being resettled under both the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) and the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS).

Public data giving the requested breakdown of family members is not available; however, the latest published statistics, summarised at Afghan Resettlement Programme: operational data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), show that, at the end of December 2023, 10,520 have been relocated under ACRS, with 9,706 individuals resettled under Pathway 1 of this scheme so far.

For those evacuated from Afghanistan under ACRS Pathway 1 without their immediate family members, the Home Secretary has committed to establishing a route for separated families to be reunited in the first half of this year. Further details will be provided in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reason sponsors are required to obtain consent from people they are sponsoring abroad before his Department will process queries; and what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of this change on the processing time of sponsorship cases.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Data protection legislation requires the sponsor of an application to have written consent from the applicant giving them permission to receive information about their immigration matter before the Home Office can share details about the application with the sponsor.

The processing of applications is not itself affected by this requirement.

For MP enquiries, the MP Account Management (MPAM) Team require third party constituents to provide evidence of permission to show they are acting on behalf of another data subject. This is known as a Letter of Authority (LOA). MPs are given five working days to provide an LOA. If the MP has difficulties obtaining a LOA in this period, the Home Office will extend this period as long as they are notified that an extension is required within the original 5 working day window.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to support sponsors in obtaining consent from persons abroad within the five-day deadline; and what support his Department provides for cases where obtaining such consent within the deadline is not possible.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Data protection legislation requires the sponsor of an application to have written consent from the applicant giving them permission to receive information about their immigration matter before the Home Office can share details about the application with the sponsor.

The processing of applications is not itself affected by this requirement.

For MP enquiries, the MP Account Management (MPAM) Team require third party constituents to provide evidence of permission to show they are acting on behalf of another data subject. This is known as a Letter of Authority (LOA). MPs are given five working days to provide an LOA. If the MP has difficulties obtaining a LOA in this period, the Home Office will extend this period as long as they are notified that an extension is required within the original 5 working day window.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an estimate of the number of asylum seekers presenting as homeless.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Asylum seekers are not eligible for statutory homelessness assistance. The Home Office has a statutory obligation to provide accommodation to asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute while their application for asylum is being considered.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department provides funding to the Home Office Islamic Network; and how much staff time was taken to run that network in the last 12 months.

Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)

Faith and Belief networks in the Home Office do not receive any Home Office funding for their activities.

The chairs of all Faith and Belief networks including Christian, Islamic, Jewish Networks, Hindu Connection and Sikh Association are permitted up to 20% facility time with executive committee members receiving 10% to carry out network related activities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 17238 on Migrants: Domestic Violence, for what reason his Department does not routinely publish information on the concession or immediate settlement for migrant victims of domestic abuse in a reportable format; and if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of publishing the number of individuals who have claimed indefinite leave to remain through the Destitute Domestic Violence Concession (a) in each year between 2018 and 2023 and (b) annually from 2024.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Data relating to specific concessions within the Act are not published as part of the National Statistics series. The latest quarterly Immigration Systems Statistics were published in February 2024, and include data for the period to December 2023. Table Se_04, “Grants of settlement to spouses on the basis of marriage”, is included within the Settlement summary tables: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65d8880b54f1e70011165916/settlement-summary-dec-2023-tables.xlsx.

Table Se_04 provides data on persons “Granted settlement due to domestic violence after leave to remain granted as a spouse”. The published statistics do not show how many or what proportion of these would have applied under DDVC.

There are currently no plans to publish the requested information within these tables. However, the contents of all tables are regularly reviewed to ensure they are appropriate and meet the requirements of users.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he plans to introduce legislation protecting shopworkers from serial or abusive shoplifters.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" was launched on 10 April, and includes a new standalone offence for assaults on retail workers and electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters. This builds on the police-led Retail Crime Action Plan, launched in October 2023.

We will legislate through the Criminal Justice Bill, currently before Parliament, to introduce a presumption towards electronic monitoring as part of a sentence served in the community for those who repeatedly steal from shops.

The new bespoke offence of assaulting a retail worker will also be introduced via the Criminal Justice Bill. The offence will have a maximum penalty of six months in prison, or an unlimited fine – and upon conviction, it is expected that courts will make a Criminal Behaviour Order, which could bar offenders from visiting affected shops or premises. Breaching a Criminal Behaviour Order is a criminal offence and carries a five-year maximum prison sentence.

Those who repeatedly assault retail workers will be electronically monitored after their third offence, to crack down on reoffending and ensure those continuing down a path of violent behaviour will be met with further consequences. For the most serious violent offenders of assault, custodial sentences of up to five years in prison are already available.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many vacancies there are in frontline police roles, including Police Community Support Officers, as of 16 April 2024.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold data on vacancies in frontline policing roles.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the function of police workers (officers, staff, designated officers (S.38) and Police Community Support Officers) as at 31 March each year in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

This includes information on the number and proportion of police workers in frontline policing roles. Data from 31 March 2021 to 31 March 2023, by worker type, can be found in the ‘Functions Open Data Table’ here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba635306f78d000d7426aa/open-data-table-police-workforce-functions-260723.ods. Data for previous years, can be found in Tables F1 to F3 of the data tables accompanying each publication.

Data for the ‘as at 31 March 2024’ publication will be published in July 2024 as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 1 November 2022 to Question 72950 on Home Office: Vivastreet, how many times officials from her Department met representatives of Vivastreet (a) online and (b) in person in (i) 2023 and (ii) 2024.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Home Office officials and law enforcement partners maintain a collaborative working relationship with many online companies, including adult service websites, to identify and put in place initiatives to reduce harms on their sites.

Since 2023, Home Office officials have met with representatives of Vivastreet online, on the following occasions during each calendar year:

We committed to working with adult service websites to explore a set of voluntary principles to counter exploitation on their sites, in the Violence Against Woman and Girls Strategy published in July 2021. The principles will encourage adult service websites to take reasonable and practical steps to prevent modern slavery and exploitation on their platforms and work collaboratively with law enforcement.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to encourage (a) alternative working and (b) other arrangements to support people in police forces with (i) additional needs, (ii) disabilities and (iii) other health conditions.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 20,000-officer uplift provided a once in a generation opportunity to support forces to become more representative of the communities they serve, and to create a foundation from which forces can continue to make further improvements in future.

As a result of the police uplift, the police officer workforce is now more representative than it has ever been. As at 31 March 2023, there are 53,080 female police officers (headcount) which represents the highest number on record, accounting for 35.5% of officers.

The learning generated during the Uplift has been captured and shared with forces via the online Uplift Hub. This is now being used by forces to support ongoing recruitment activity and strong evidence-led retention strategies to support officers in their careers. Dedicated learning is also available on the Uplift Hub on improving representation.

In order to support forces to recruit and retain officers from diverse backgrounds and promote inclusivity, the College of Policing has also created a toolkit for forces to support the development of flexible and/or part-time working pathways as well as a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit for forces.

Through the Police Covenant, we have also appointed the first Chief Medical Officer for policing who is developing a national health strategy for all staff and officers.

Whilst progress has been made, there remains more work to be done by forces to increase representation in policing. The Government also continues to work with forces to ensure that they put the right support in place to enable officers and staff with additional needs, disabilities or other health conditions to enable them to thrive in their careers and continue to serve the public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to encourage (a) flexible working and (b) other practices to support gender-inclusivity in police forces.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 20,000-officer uplift provided a once in a generation opportunity to support forces to become more representative of the communities they serve, and to create a foundation from which forces can continue to make further improvements in future.

As a result of the police uplift, the police officer workforce is now more representative than it has ever been. As at 31 March 2023, there are 53,080 female police officers (headcount) which represents the highest number on record, accounting for 35.5% of officers.

The learning generated during the Uplift has been captured and shared with forces via the online Uplift Hub. This is now being used by forces to support ongoing recruitment activity and strong evidence-led retention strategies to support officers in their careers. Dedicated learning is also available on the Uplift Hub on improving representation.

In order to support forces to recruit and retain officers from diverse backgrounds and promote inclusivity, the College of Policing has also created a toolkit for forces to support the development of flexible and/or part-time working pathways as well as a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit for forces.

Through the Police Covenant, we have also appointed the first Chief Medical Officer for policing who is developing a national health strategy for all staff and officers.

Whilst progress has been made, there remains more work to be done by forces to increase representation in policing. The Government also continues to work with forces to ensure that they put the right support in place to enable officers and staff with additional needs, disabilities or other health conditions to enable them to thrive in their careers and continue to serve the public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to improve the (a) recruitment and (b) retention of female police officers.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 20,000-officer uplift provided a once in a generation opportunity to support forces to become more representative of the communities they serve, and to create a foundation from which forces can continue to make further improvements in future.

As a result of the police uplift, the police officer workforce is now more representative than it has ever been. As at 31 March 2023, there are 53,080 female police officers (headcount) which represents the highest number on record, accounting for 35.5% of officers.

The learning generated during the Uplift has been captured and shared with forces via the online Uplift Hub. This is now being used by forces to support ongoing recruitment activity and strong evidence-led retention strategies to support officers in their careers. Dedicated learning is also available on the Uplift Hub on improving representation.

In order to support forces to recruit and retain officers from diverse backgrounds and promote inclusivity, the College of Policing has also created a toolkit for forces to support the development of flexible and/or part-time working pathways as well as a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit for forces.

Through the Police Covenant, we have also appointed the first Chief Medical Officer for policing who is developing a national health strategy for all staff and officers.

Whilst progress has been made, there remains more work to be done by forces to increase representation in policing. The Government also continues to work with forces to ensure that they put the right support in place to enable officers and staff with additional needs, disabilities or other health conditions to enable them to thrive in their careers and continue to serve the public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of police officer resignations; and what steps he is taking to ensure the (a) adequacy of police officer numbers and (b) long-term sustainability of the workforce.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The government has delivered its commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers. There are now over 149,000 officers in England and Wales, higher than the previous peak before the Police Uplift Programme (PUP), in March 2010 before our unprecedented recruitment drive.

The retention of police officers remains a priority for the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Voluntary resignation rates, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors.

Forces plan their ongoing recruitment to replace officers who leave, and in order to maintain officer numbers. They have been fully funded to recruit and maintain the 20,000 additional officers and that is what they are doing.

As part of the funding announced in the police funding settlement for 2024/25, £425 million has been allocated to forces which Police and Crime Commissioners can access if they maintain officer numbers.

As part of the PUP we created the Uplift Hub, an online resource for all forces that contains learning, insights and guidance generated during the programme, themed around Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding and Retention. Forces are already accessing this learning to support retention activity which is ensuring officers are supported.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to increase the number and proportion of (a) police officers and (b) other police staff who are female.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The 20,000-officer uplift provided a once in a generation opportunity to support forces to become more representative of the communities they serve, and to create a foundation from which forces can continue to make further improvements in future.

As a result of the police uplift, the police officer workforce is now more representative than it has ever been. As at 31 March 2023, there are 53,080 female police officers (headcount) which represents the highest number on record, accounting for 35.5% of officers.

The learning generated during the Uplift has been captured and shared with forces via the online Uplift Hub. This is now being used by forces to support ongoing recruitment activity and strong evidence-led retention strategies to support officers in their careers. Dedicated learning is also available on the Uplift Hub on improving representation.

In order to support forces to recruit and retain officers from diverse backgrounds and promote inclusivity, the College of Policing has also created a toolkit for forces to support the development of flexible and/or part-time working pathways as well as a Workplace Adjustment Toolkit for forces.

Through the Police Covenant, we have also appointed the first Chief Medical Officer for policing who is developing a national health strategy for all staff and officers.

Whilst progress has been made, there remains more work to be done by forces to increase representation in policing. The Government also continues to work with forces to ensure that they put the right support in place to enable officers and staff with additional needs, disabilities or other health conditions to enable them to thrive in their careers and continue to serve the public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, has established a programme to support departments managing legacy IT. CDDO has agreed a framework to identify ‘red-rated’ systems, indicating high levels of risk surrounding certain assets within the IT estate. Departments have committed to have remediation plans in place for these systems by next year (2025). It is not appropriate to release sensitive information held about specific red-rated systems or more detailed plans for remediation within the Home Department’s IT estate, as this information could indicate which systems are at risk, and may highlight potential security vulnerabilities.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers have retired due to ill health in the last five years.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers leaving the police service and their reasons for leaving, including medical retirements, as at 31 March each year, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Information on the number of police officers leaving the police service by reason for leaving, including medical retirements, between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2023 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba76662059dc000d5d27c0/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.ods

The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police officers taking medical retirement in Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of his Department’s (a) advertising and (b) marketing expenditure was on (i) local newspapers in print and online, (ii) national newspapers in print and online, (iii) social media, (iv) search engines, (v) broadcast and on-demand television and (vi) other channels in the most recent year for which data is available.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office does not hold the information broken down in this way internally.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will list the companies that are licensed to supply tasers to police forces in the UK.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office approves less lethal weapons for police use following extensive technical and medical assessments. Decisions about the selection and purchase of approved less lethal weapons are primarily for chief officers.

The only company currently approved to supply Conductive Energy Devices (CEDs) to UK police forces is Axon Enterprise.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that there are an adequate number of firefighters with (a) adequate and (b) reliable equipment to tackle fires in cities in England.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government is committed to ensuring Fire and Rescue Services (FRSs) have the resources they need to do their important work. Overall, Fire and Rescue Authorities (FRAs) will receive around £2.87 billion in 2024/25. Standalone FRAs will see an increase in core spending power of £95.4m in 2024/25. This is an increase of 5.6 per cent in cash terms compared to 2023/24.

Decisions on how FRSs are run, and how their resources are allocated, including crewing numbers and the procurement of equipment, are for the local Chief Fire Officers and their democratically elected FRA. They are responsible for ensuring the needs and demands of their local community are met and are able to direct their resources where they are needed most.

All FRAs have a statutory duty to produce a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP) in which they set out the key challenges and risks facing their communities and how they intend to meet and reduce them. This is in line with the Fire and Rescue National Framework, which is the document by which the Home Office sets strategic requirements for the FRA.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November 2023 to Question 359 on Abortion: Demonstrations, what progress his Department has made on implementing safe access zones.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government recently ran a public consultation on non-statutory guidance to support the introduction of the offence of interference with access to or provision of abortion services, which closed on 22 January. We are now considering the responses received and will publish the final guidance in due course.

We anticipate commencing Section 9 of the Public Order Act 2023 no later than Spring 2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to enhance the enforcement capabilities at borders to prevent the smuggling of puppies and kittens into the UK.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Border Force’s number one priority is to keep our borders safe and secure, and we will never compromise on this. Border Force officers work tirelessly, working closely with law enforcement agencies to share intelligence.

Border Force has extensive powers to examine and control traffic for a wide variety of purposes, and through its work at the border is able to examine vehicles and freight and ensure detections of illegal imports are referred to the most relevant authority or enforcement agency for action.

If live animals are detected, Border Force is responsible for the detention of the animals and vehicle, and then referring to the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) at the appropriate border control post for further enforcement action.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps his Department has taken to (a) reduce crime and (b) improve community safety in Birmingham.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

This Government is committed to cutting crime, keeping our streets safe, and restoring confidence in the criminal justice system.

Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), as the locally elected and democratically accountable individual, are responsible for the totality of policing in their area. They set local policing and crime objectives in partnership with their communities and key stakeholders and hold the Chief Constable to account for the delivery of efficient and effective policing.

The Government is funding a range of initiatives in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands police force area to reduce crime. Through the Safer Streets Fund, the West Midlands has received just over £3.7m of investment through five rounds of the Fund. As part of the current Round Five, the West Midlands PCC has been allocated £819k to deliver interventions aimed at targeting neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour, and violence against women and girls.

To tackle the drivers of serious violence, the Home Office has invested over £20m since 2019 to develop the West Midlands Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), including funding of over £4.38m in 2023/2024. The West Midlands VRU delivers a range of preventative interventions, cognitive behavioural therapy programmes, and sports-based diversionary programmes.

During the Police Uplift, West Midlands recruited 1,376 additional uplift officers against a total three-year allocation of 1,218 officers. As at 30 September 2023, there were 7,982 police officers in West Midlands, a total growth of 1,291 additional officers against the baseline (6,691) at the start of the Police Uplift.

Overall, the West Midlands will receive up to £790.4 million in 2024/2025 from the police funding settlement, an increase of up to £51.1 million when compared to 2023/2024.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a knife amnesty.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Many police forces provide amnesty bins all year round to provide the public with a facility to safely dispose of unwanted knives and other offensive weapons. It is for Chief Constables, directly elected Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) and Mayors with PCC functions to make operational decisions including how to allocate resources based on their local knowledge and experience.

The Government continues to encourage police forces to undertake a series of coordinated national weeks of action to tackle knife crime under Operation Sceptre. The operation includes targeted stop and searches, weapon sweeps of hotspot areas, surrender of knives, including through amnesty bins, test purchases of knives from retailers, and educational events. The latest phase of the operation took place between 13 to 19 November 2023 and saw 12,149 knives surrendered or recovered.

On 25 January we laid the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (Offensive Weapons) (Amendment, Surrender and Compensation) Order 2024 in Parliament. Subject to parliamentary approval, this will prohibit the manufacture, supply, sale and possession of zombie-style knives and machetes in England and Wales from 24 September 2024. From 26 August 2024 to 23 September 2024 we will be running a surrender and compensation scheme so that those who own zombie-style knives and machetes which will be banned, can surrender them and receive compensation.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the (a) coronavirus extension concession and (b) exceptional assurance concession on the average length of decision periods for applications for indefinite leave to remain.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

On 4 April 2024 a change was made to the Immigration Rules to provide that:

(a) Time spent in the UK during the Coronavirus extension concession grace period (1 August and 31 August 2020) would be considered as lawful presence where an applicant’s permission expired immediately before the grace period; and

(b) Overstaying in the UK when a person held an exceptional assurance concession would be disregarded during the period of grant of exceptional assurance.

Following this Immigration Rules change, decisions on applications for settlement where the person spent time in the UK for a period covered by these concessions are now being prioritised.

Where cases fall outside service standards, the Home Office write to the applicant to inform them of this.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is aware of delays in casework decisions where further advice on policy is sought.

Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)

Our priority is to consider claims as efficiently and fairly as possible. This is best for claimants, but also reduces the number of people on asylum support, and in turn, the burden on taxpayers. There may be circumstances which may delay the progression of a case, for example waiting for evidence that is of importance in deciding a claim, or a change in country situation requiring an update in country and policy information notes leading to a pause in deciding cases.

In these circumstances, regular reviews are undertaken at appropriate intervals, dependant on the reason why the claim cannot be progressed. As soon as the reason why the claim cannot be progressed is lifted, consideration of the claim is continued.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2024 to Question 19034 on Asylum: Rwanda, when he plans to publish the Memorandum of Understanding on the voluntary relocation of people to Rwanda.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

A Memorandum of Understanding has been agreed with the Government of Rwanda for the voluntary relocation of individuals and will be published in due course.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many staff in his Department have a maximum payscale below £29,000.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

Within the Home Office, as of March 2024, there are 10,819 staff that have a maximum payscale below £29,000.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he plans to provide additional funding to help tackle (a) knife and (b) gun crime.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Government remains committed to providing the resources needed to tackle violent crime. This includes taking firm action to protect the public by addressing the threat of criminals gaining access to illegal firearms including implementing legislation to prevent legally held firearms getting into the hands of criminals.

In 2023/24 we allocated £55m to Violence Reduction Units, £12.9m to support delivery of the Serious Violence Duty and £30m to ‘Grip’ hotspot policing patrols to tackle serious violence. Work is ongoing to continue this activity in 2024/25.

In the 2024 Spring Budget, the Chancellor committed an additional £75 million over 3-years from 2025 to upscale existing violence reduction units and expand activity across England and Wales, supporting a prevention first approach to serious violence.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Retail Crime Action Plan.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

In October 2023, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) published the Retail Crime Action Plan. Through this Plan, all police forces across England and Wales have committed to prioritise attendance at the scene where violence has been used towards shop staff, where an offender has been detained by store security, and where evidence needs to be secured and can only be done by police personnel. Additionally, where CCTV or other digital images are secured, police will run this through the Police National Database to aid efforts to identify prolific offenders or potentially dangerous individuals.

This builds on the NPCC commitment that police forces across England and Wales will follow up all crimes where there are reasonable lines of enquiry, actionable evidence and the chance of identifying an offender, including shoplifting.

Early indications suggest that there has been improved police attendance at the retail crime incidents prioritised. This has been echoed by major retailers.

Though this is a welcome step from policing, we know more needs to be done. That’s why, on 10 April, we launched the Government’s plan – "Fighting retail crime: more action" which highlights five areas of work this Government will drive forward to tackle retail crime:

• Introducing a standalone offence for assaults on retail workers;
• Additional electronic monitoring for prolific shoplifters;
• Working with police and businesses to roll out the latest facial recognition to catch these perpetrators;
• Championing good practice to design out crime; and
• Making it easier for retailers to report crime.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of permanent staff worked in the National Crime Agency's International Corruption Unit for more than 12 months; and what the staff attrition rate was for the financial year (i) 2019-20 and (ii) 2020-21.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

International Corruption Unit (ICU) data shows that in 2023/24 92% of staff had been in the unit for more than 12 months.

The ICU staff annual attrition rate was recorded at 37% in 2019/20 and 9% 2020/21.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what information his Department holds on the number for fire fighting (a) appliances and (b) vehicles owned by the Fire and Rescue Service over the last five financial years, by each region.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The latest available data (year ending March 2021) on the number of fire -fighting appliances and vehicles owned by the Fire and Rescue Service is published in FIRE1403, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/634d2ed6e90e0731aa0fcc59/fire-statistics-data-tables-fire1403-201022.xlsx.

This provides the number of fire operational appliances (fire-fighting appliances) and non-operational appliances which includes the subcategory of vehicles. The data is provided by year for England, and for each fire and rescue service (FRS), designated as either metropolitan or non-metropolitan. We do not publish the data by region, but the numbers for each FRS can be aggregated to provide required regional level data.

The table below provides the number of operational and non-operational appliances in England between the years ending March 2017 and years ending March 2021.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on potential insurance claims and damages as a result of wildfires in Surrey.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office are the lead Government Department for Wildfire Response and own the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) wildfire risk. Government departments including Home Office, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities and key stakeholders work closely to mitigate the risk of wildfire.

The published Wildfire Framework outlines the work being undertaken to improve the UK’s preparedness for wildfires in England. The Home Office maintains regular engagement with National Bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements to wildfire response and mitigation.

The Home Office have committed to scoping a wildfire strategy and action plan by mid-2024, with support from Defra and its agencies. This commitment is outlined in the third National Adaptation Plan and includes considering prevention, response and recovery actions.

In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor who will assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Surrey County Council has overall responsibility for fire and rescue services in Surrey. The county council will receive an un-ringfenced grant for all of their services including fire, through the Local Government Finance Settlement and they will allocate funding according to their priorities.

All Fire and Rescue Authority’s including Surrey, are required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfires) through their Integrated Risk Management Plan. This will include plans to prevent and respond to incidents.

Individuals should contact their own insurance providers with regard to any potential claims for damage as a result of wildfire.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to mitigate potential wildfires in Surrey.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office are the lead Government Department for Wildfire Response and own the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) wildfire risk. Government departments including Home Office, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities and key stakeholders work closely to mitigate the risk of wildfire.

The published Wildfire Framework outlines the work being undertaken to improve the UK’s preparedness for wildfires in England. The Home Office maintains regular engagement with National Bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements to wildfire response and mitigation.

The Home Office have committed to scoping a wildfire strategy and action plan by mid-2024, with support from Defra and its agencies. This commitment is outlined in the third National Adaptation Plan and includes considering prevention, response and recovery actions.

In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor who will assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Surrey County Council has overall responsibility for fire and rescue services in Surrey. The county council will receive an un-ringfenced grant for all of their services including fire, through the Local Government Finance Settlement and they will allocate funding according to their priorities.

All Fire and Rescue Authority’s including Surrey, are required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfires) through their Integrated Risk Management Plan. This will include plans to prevent and respond to incidents.

Individuals should contact their own insurance providers with regard to any potential claims for damage as a result of wildfire.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the risk of potential wildfires in Surrey.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Home Office are the lead Government Department for Wildfire Response and own the National Security Risk Assessment (NSRA) wildfire risk. Government departments including Home Office, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities and key stakeholders work closely to mitigate the risk of wildfire.

The published Wildfire Framework outlines the work being undertaken to improve the UK’s preparedness for wildfires in England. The Home Office maintains regular engagement with National Bodies including the National Fire Chiefs Council and England and Wales Wildfire Forum to monitor and review sector led improvements to wildfire response and mitigation.

The Home Office have committed to scoping a wildfire strategy and action plan by mid-2024, with support from Defra and its agencies. This commitment is outlined in the third National Adaptation Plan and includes considering prevention, response and recovery actions.

In 24/25, the Home Office is funding a new National Resilience Wildfire Advisor who will assess what additional wildfire national capabilities might be needed to increase resilience to the wildfire risk and to ensure coordination of approaches across the sector.

Surrey County Council has overall responsibility for fire and rescue services in Surrey. The county council will receive an un-ringfenced grant for all of their services including fire, through the Local Government Finance Settlement and they will allocate funding according to their priorities.

All Fire and Rescue Authority’s including Surrey, are required to plan for the foreseeable risks in their area (including wildfires) through their Integrated Risk Management Plan. This will include plans to prevent and respond to incidents.

Individuals should contact their own insurance providers with regard to any potential claims for damage as a result of wildfire.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had recent discussions with police forces on the effectiveness of the commitment that the police attend the scene of every home burglary.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

The Crime Survey for England and Wales data shows a 56% fall in domestic burglaries when comparing the year ending September 2023 with year ending March 2010. This is clearly good news; however, we recognise the impact domestic burglary can have on individuals and communities and we are committed to tackling and preventing this crime.

The public rightly expects that the police will visit them when a home burglary has been committed, which is why we welcome the announcement made by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) on 8 June 2023 that all 43 police forces in England and Wales have been implementing this attendance policy since March 2023: https://news.npcc.police.uk/releases/police-now-attending-scene-of-every-home-burglary.

The police commitment to attend home burglaries is supported by specific College of Policing good practice guidance on conducting residential burglary investigations: https://www.college.police.uk/guidance/residential-burglary.

We are continuing to regularly engage with the NPCC and the police on tackling burglary through an array of forums, including the Residential Burglary Taskforce and the National Policing Board, as well as working with police leaders to ensure forces are making their attendance data available to the public.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many case workers in the UK have received training to manage and process the deportation of individuals seeking asylum to Rwanda.

Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)

As the Prime Minister has already set out, the necessary case workers in the UK have been recruited and trained and are ready to make decisions in preparation for the first individuals being relocated.

Found: The Home Office is responsible for criminal and national security risks such as election security, child

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Found: UK, the Migrant Resource Centre was established in Mauritius in 2019 with funding from the UK Home

Found: Office; Dan Hobbs, director general, migration and borders group, Home Office; and Iain Forbes, director

Found: Letter dated 15 April 2024 from Laura Farris MP, Minister for Victims and Safeguarding, Home Office,

Found: Shortly after the establishment of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse the Home Office

Found: Jonathan Slater: I went from the Cabinet Office in 2001 to the Home Office in 2006.

Found: The Home Office is the public body to whom most of the BHI recommendations are directed.

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Found: Correspondence from Sir Matthew Rycroft, Permanent Secretary, Home Office, re Asylum Accommodation and

Found: Office 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home -office Dame Meg

Found: Home Office data shows a consistent rise in cases of fraud against organisations over the past decade

Found: It has gone out for views from other partners such as the GLAA, the NCA and the Home Office.

Found: England-only responsibilities in other relevant departments (Department for Culture, Media and Sport; Home

Found: B4Ukraine, 2024 is the year to defund Russia’s war: The West holds the key, 2 February 2024, p.23 37 Home

Found: To our knowledge, no enforcement action has been by the Department of Transport or the Home Office

Found: Alongside the Department for Health and Social Care and Home office, they are custodians of statutory

Found: Home Office and REUL The committee raised questions regarding asylum related REUL and REUL sitting

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Found: Home Secretary 2 Marsham Street London SW1P 4DF www.gov.uk/home -office Rt Hon

Found: Q20 Lord Murray of Blidworth: Obviously, we know that the Home Office considers that modern slavery

Found: I used to work in the Home Office. It was quite standard to have different terms and conditions.

Found: As part of its evaluation of the UK resettlement schemes, the Home Office collects data from local authorities

Found: behavioural 1 Memorandum of Understanding between the Portman Group, the Department of Health, the Home

Found: Technically, it could also be the Home Office, because it is responsible for UK search and rescue.

Found: Overall proportion of ODA spent by the FCDO and Home Office You asked for the overall proportion of

Found: primary ODA -spending department, we are concerned to see the scale of ODA funding allocated to the Home

Found: It was a privilege to work for you at the Home Office.

Found: should create and manage a new publicly available database which collates all recommendations made 10 Home

Found: GCHQ, while national crises responses that may be manifested through cyber activity fall to the Home

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Found: anything to do with the Department of Health, and the child sexual abuse inquiry was sponsored by the Home

Found: That will be by the Home Office for the Home Office sites and accommodation of the Home Office, and

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask His Majesty's Government what information (1) the Home Office, and (2) other departments, have regarding the number of casualties caused by pedal cyclists and e-bikes to pedestrians in the past 20 years.

Answered by Lord Davies of Gower - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport publishes road casualty statistics based on personal injury road collisions reported to the police via the STATS19 reporting system.

Electrically assisted pedal cycles are included in the pedal cycle category depending on their power output.

The table below shows the annual number of pedestrian casualties where they were in collision with a pedal cycle from 2003 to 2022 (the latest year that data is available for). There may also be other vehicles involved in the overall collision.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has undertaken contingency planning with the British Overseas Territories in the Caribbean for steps to be taken in the event of a deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Haiti.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The UK remains committed to the safety and security of all British Overseas Territories. Since the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Haiti we have worked closely, with other international partners, to continue to strengthen the resilience of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) in responding to the risk of illegal migration. In March, the Foreign Secretary set out the support we are providing to TCI to secure its borders and we have funded a visit by a team of experts from the Home Office and Ministry of Defence to recommend further measures. We have also funded asylum training across the Overseas Territories and are working with the Home Office to bolster capabilities further.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, what recent discussions he has had on progress on the introduction of public registers of beneficial ownership in the (a) Crown Dependencies and (b) Overseas Territories.

Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

On 14 March 2024, the FCDO co-hosted, with the British Virgin Islands (BVI) Government, the inaugural UK-OT Joint Ministerial Dialogue on Illicit Finance. We discussed, among other areas, beneficial ownership transparency. I [Minister Rutley] re-stated the UK's expectation that access for those with a legitimate interest, including media and civil society, will be established by the end of 2024 as an interim step to full public accessibility. Overseas Territory Governments re-affirmed the commitments outlined in the Statement that I laid in December (HCWS150). The Home Office continue to lead engagement with the Crown Dependencies.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an estimate of the number of British National Overseas visa holders that are unable to access student finance.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

Under the existing student support regulations, Hong Kong British National Overseas (BNO) visa holders would not have access to student finance until they have acquired a settled status in the UK and meet the three-year ordinary residence requirement. As the BNO route only opened in January 2021, the earliest a person is likely to become settled (and have access student finance) is in January 2026. As such, all persons who have been granted leave under the BNO route, are not currently able to access student finance.

Home Office statistics show that 140,300 people have arrived in the UK on the scheme since it began. However, not all of these people will go on to study in higher education.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reduce over-crowding in HMP Wandsworth.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In prisons where we have crowding in place, a rigorous cell certification process is undertaken that ensures the use of cells is subject to a formal assessment of safety and decency.

We continue to pursue the package of longer-term measures the Lord Chancellor announced on 16 October 2023 to reform the justice system and address the prison capacity challenges. The measures include: the extension of the Early Removal Scheme to deport Foreign National Offenders (FNOs), introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the licence period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew. On 11 March, the Lord Chancellor announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners, such as Albania, and the creation of a new taskforce across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to change the way we process FNO cases radically.

To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.

The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential financial impact of trends in the level of enrolments of international students on universities.

Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)

The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.

The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100, worldwide. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.

However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.

The Office for Students (OfS), the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, continues to work closely with the Home Office, Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.

Universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department also works closely with the OfS to understand the evolving landscape, including on risks relating to international students.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the Fraud Act 2006 and its potential impact on female welfare claimants.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made as this is not a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Ministry of Justice carried out a post-implementation review on the Fraud Act 2006: Post-legislative Assessment of the Fraud Act 2006 (publishing.service.gov.uk) and the Home Office have confirmed that on 12 October 2023 the Government launched the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. Part two of the Review will evaluate the operation of the Fraud Act: Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).’

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Deputy Foreign Secretary, whether his Department has held recent discussions with the European Commission on a derogation for the UK from the EU Entry/Exit System.

Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)

The Government engages with the European Commission on a range of border issues, including the EU Entry/Exit System.

This is a cross-government effort and we continue to work closely with the Home Office and Department for Transport.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the estimated 33 per cent fall in overseas students on the financial viability of UK universities.

Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The government seeks to ensure that there is a fair and robust migration policy, whilst maintaining the UK’s place as a top destination for the best and brightest students from around the world. The department remains committed to the ambitions set out in the government’s International Education Strategy to host 600,000 international students per year and to increase the value of its education exports to £35 billion per year, both by 2030.

The department expects the UK to remain a highly attractive study destination. The UK has four universities in the top ten, and 17 in the top 100. The UK has a highly sought after higher education (HE) experience, which is respected by students across the globe. The department is hugely proud to have met its international student recruitment ambition two years running.

However, the level of legal migration remains too high. As a result, on 4 December 2023, the government announced a new package of measures to reduce net migration and curb abuse and exploitation of the country’s immigration system.

Our universities are autonomous institutions responsible for managing their own budgets. The department works closely with the Office for Students, the independent regulator of the HE sector in England, to understand the evolving landscape including on risks relating to international students.

It also continues to work closely with the Home Office, the Department for Business and Trade, and other governmental departments to assess the impact of these changes on HE providers.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 15 April 2024 to Questions 18426 and 18425 on Laboratories: Disease Control, if she will publish a breakdown of each expense category of (a) expenditure and (b) maintenance costs; for what reason Porton Down and Colindale scientific campus sites do not have separate operational costs for the Category 4 laboratories; what plans she has to ensure the long-term sustainability and effectiveness of Cat 4 laboratory sites; and what steps she is taking to protect the UK from (i) synthetically designed viruses and (ii) other new and emerging biothreats.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

The requested information on expenditure and maintenance costs is not held in the format requested, and obtaining it would incur disproportionate cost. Porton Down and Colindale do not have separate operational costs, as work for various programmes is undertaken across both sites, and costs are considered at a programme level.

The sites have regular infrastructure and condition surveys, to ensure they are appropriately maintained. The required tactical investments are made to keep the sites viable and effective, pending future strategic investments. Sites are regularly inspected by regulators, including the Health and Safety Executive and the Home Office, which provides assurance that the sites are compliant.

The UK Biological Security Strategy was published in June 2023, setting out the vision, mission, and priorities to protect the United Kingdom and its interests from significant biological risks, no matter how they occur and no matter who, or what, they affect. Further information on the strategy is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-biological-security-strategy

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she is taking steps to increase awareness of naloxone.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of creating a national naloxone programme.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for publishing a response to her Department's consultation on Expanding access to naloxone.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the availability of naloxone across England.

Answered by Andrea Leadsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Naloxone is highly effective in reducing opioid overdose-related deaths, and the Government is working to widen access to, and increase the uptake of, this life saving drug. A prescription only medicine that is available across the United Kingdom, naloxone can be prescribed by a doctor or non-medical prescriber or provided, under a Patient Group Direction. It can also be supplied without prescription by drug services, which include specialist National Health Service and voluntary sector treatment services, as well as community pharmacies providing other substance misuse services across the UK.

Naloxone has been available for anyone to use in an emergency since 2005. There is good awareness of it, supported by earlier guidance by the Department and its agencies in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2023. Drug treatment services and their suppliers also provide independent awareness-raising materials, targeting people who use opioids.

The Government launched a UK-wide public consultation to seek views on our proposal to amend the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 so that more professionals, services, and family members can give out take-home naloxone supplies. The consultation closed on 6 March 2024, and the responses are currently being analysed. The Government will publish its official response shortly.

The Government is working to increase naloxone carriage, and has provided additional investment in drug treatment services to support this work. In England, local authorities and their partners have been increasing naloxone supply in recent years. There are now three naloxone products available, and supply has been meeting demand. To enable the Government to respond to any future change in demand for naloxone, the Department is working with the Home Office to model scenarios where demand for naloxone may increase, and has conducted a commercial engagement exercise to better understand the naloxone market, and the market’s capacity to respond to changes in demand.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on (a) increasing penalties for wildlife crime, (b) widening the range of wildlife crimes which receive notifiable status and (c) incorporating wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously. In 2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25.

Significant sanctions are already available to judges to hand down to those convicted of wildlife crimes - up to an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. Furthermore, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 realises the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty – including acts against wildlife - by increasing the maximum penalty for this offence to five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Sentencing those convicted of wildlife crimes is, however, a matter for judges; these decisions are rightly taken independently of Government.

Defra has actively supported stakeholders in making representations to the Home Office regarding the issue of making wildlife crimes notifiable. However, regardless of notifiable status, when it comes to responding to the most prevalent wildlife crimes, Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

Wildlife crime is not mandated as authorised professional practice and therefore is not a training requirement via the College of Policing. However, the NWCU (funded to a large degree by Defra) currently provides training to police officers across the UK. This training reflects the National Police Chiefs' Council wildlife crime strategy and provides comprehensive training in UK wildlife crime priorities and emerging trends. Since November 2022 the NWCU has trained 890 officers and is in the process of building a comprehensive digital training platform for wildlife crime which police officers and police staff will be able to access nationwide. Additionally, the NWCU provides a digital information hub for almost 1000 police staff, with up-to-date guidance on investigating wildlife crime.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) classifying wildlife crimes as either-way offences with a maximum sentence of up to five years imprisonment, (b) giving wildlife crime notifiable status and (c) incorporating wildlife crime into the Policing Education Qualification Framework.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The Government takes crimes against wildlife seriously. In 2022 Defra more than doubled its funding of the National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) from a total of £495,000 over the three previous years to £1.2 million for the three-year period of 2022-25.

Significant sanctions are already available to judges to hand down to those convicted of wildlife crimes - up to an unlimited fine and/or a six-month custodial sentence. Furthermore, the Animal Welfare (Sentencing) Act 2021 realises the Government’s manifesto commitment to increase the sentences available to our courts for the most serious cases of animal cruelty – including acts against wildlife - by increasing the maximum penalty for this offence to five years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. Sentencing those convicted of wildlife crimes is, however, a matter for judges; these decisions are rightly taken independently of Government.

Defra has actively supported stakeholders in making representations to the Home Office regarding the issue of making wildlife crimes notifiable. However, regardless of notifiable status, when it comes to responding to the most prevalent wildlife crimes, Chief Constables have operational independence to tackle the crimes that matter most to their communities.

Wildlife crime is not mandated as authorised professional practice and therefore is not a training requirement via the College of Policing. However, the NWCU (funded to a large degree by Defra) currently provides training to police officers across the UK. This training reflects the National Police Chiefs' Council wildlife crime strategy and provides comprehensive training in UK wildlife crime priorities and emerging trends. Since November 2022 the NWCU has trained 890 officers and is in the process of building a comprehensive digital training platform for wildlife crime which police officers and police staff will be able to access nationwide. Additionally, the NWCU provides a digital information hub for almost 1000 police staff, with up-to-date guidance on investigating wildlife crime.

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